Fire & Ice
by FantasyGirl1995
Summary: 3 whole years, that's how long they spent together, but he had 'obligations' and he left. She never knew where to, and he never knew where she was going when she 'got out'. But when her recognizable face shows up at Buck's, he feels that fire again. The fire that made him feel alive.
1. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

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><p>"Well, if it ain't little miss Katy." Two-Bit had that goofy grin on his face as he headed over to her.<p>

Kate smiled, Daniel had been the only person who ever called her Katy. "Hey Two-Bit."

"You working here full time?"

Kate nodded and picked up the glasses off of an empty table, the Dingo wasn't too busy during school hours.

"You graduate already?"

Kate frowned and avoided his eyes, "I dropped out about a year ago."

Two-Bit could tell that the reason wasn't any of his business.

She cocked an eyebrow at him, "What about you? Ain't you supposed to be in school?"

He shrugged and took a seat in the booth that Kate had just finished wiping down. "Didn't feel like going to English today."

Kate grinned at him slightly but there was a motherly look in her eyes. "Was Dallas there?"

Two-Bit nodded and she could tell that he was trying to figure her out. "You and Dallas have history?"

Kate tipped her head to look at him better, "Yeah."

Two-Bit looked curious, "What kind of history?"

The smile returned, "What kind of history did Dallas tell you about?" Two-Bit was silent and Kate nodded understandingly, "It ain't my place to tell you his business, Two-Bit."

"It's your business too."

"Our business." She clarified. "If he wants you to know sweetie, then he'll tell you. Simple as that."

**XXX**

It'd been nearly a week since her date with Richard but she knew that Dallas hadn't forgotten about it. Neither of them were stupid, Richard had been sure to have a couple of his guys with him for the past few days. It'd gotten around Tulsa pretty fast that Dallas had some history with Kate.

"Dal." She wasn't angry but she didn't want him to start a fight in the middle of someone's house either. She couldn't quite remember whose party they were at, but she wasn't the type for breaking someone's shit over a petty grudge. "Take it outside." Kate warned.

Dallas smirked and pushed his glass back. "He ain't stupid, babe. He ain't gonna follow me outside." He was preparing to stand up and Kate quickly made it to the other side of the table, taking a spot in-front of him.

She held her hands up to his chest. "Dal, come on. This ain't our house."

He glared down at her, "I thought you weren't gonna get in the way of this."

"I'm not trying to, honey. You can have it out with him. Outside." She stressed.

Richard caught his stare from across the room and stood up a little straighter. By now, he had probably been thinking that he was in the clear, and was definitely lacking in backup. It would be a fair fight though. Steve, Two-Bit, and Soda were watching him from another table in the corner, but they wouldn't interfere unless Richard's guys did first.

Richard was walking toward him now and the rest of the guys walked over to stand with Dal. There was some protest coming from Sandy and Evie as they remained at the table, but Kathy followed closely behind Two-Bit.

Richard was getting awful close and Kate was standing her ground. "Move." Dallas glared at her but she didn't look slightly intimidated. He grabbed her arm roughly and she flinched. Dallas gave her a worried look, he wasn't used to that type of reaction from her but he didn't have time to worry about it now.

Kathy grabbed Kate's hand much gentler and pulled her away, "Come on, sweetie. Dal's gonna do what he wants either way."

Two-Bit glanced at the two of them out of the corner of his eye but still managed to continue looking forward at the same time, two of Richard's guys had showed up just in time. "She's right, Katy."

There was a crowd gathering as Dal and Richard squared up. The two goons who had come with Richard were keeping their distance and Kate noticed Soda and Two-Bit relax. Steve however, looked like he was itching for a fight. She recognized the way he was rubbing his knuckles with his hand.

"Make a move, Winston."

Dallas shrugged, "Looks like you already made your move."

Richard wrinkled his eyebrows, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"On my girl." Dallas clarified and Kate stood a little straighter as multiple eyes landed on her. She wasn't his girl, not technically anyway.

Richard shook his head and smirked viciously, "It's not my fault she was just being a tease."

"Just get it over with already." Two-Bit muttered and Kate noticed the red-head bobbing through the crowd.

"So this is the bitch you screwed around on me with?" She looked awfully pissed as she glared at Kate.

Richard rolled his eyes at her, "Back off, Jessica."

It was as if it registered with all of them at the same time. Jessica, the red-head who Dallas had been with that first night at Buck's.

She walked up to Kate and Two-Bit pulled Kathy behind him, giving Kate a guilty look as he did so, but there was nothing he could do to help her.

Kate started fidgeting with the hair tie on her wrist. Dallas and Richard were on hold as all eyes were watching the two girls.

"Like I said, are you the bitch who messed around with my man?"

"You better back away, honey." Kate warned but Jessica stood her ground. Kate shrugged, already knowing the outcome of the situation, "I didn't do shit with your man, but it ain't my fault that he offered."

Jessica was getting in her personal space now and Kate continued, "What? He ain't getting enough with his first choice?" Kate had just enough time to put her hair up before Jessica pushed her into the table. Jessica went straight for Kate's hair anyway and Kate heard Dallas and Richard begin to go at it and desperately wished she had had time to take her earrings out.

She knew Dallas had Richard pinned already by the glance she stole of him before punching Jessica in her face. She felt a pinch of guilt at the bone she knew she had hit in her nose but it went away quickly when Jessica retaliated and re-split her lip. Kate got a hold of Jessica's shoulders and threw her into the table.

She didn't get up and Richard was doing pretty bad as he lay still on the floor.

Dallas walked over to her and she wiped at her lip. "You knock him out?"

Dallas nodded and squeezed his nose some as the napkin he was holding only got redder.

Kate nodded too and turned for the door. The crowd wasn't fading as Dallas reached for her arm again, stopping short this time. "Hey-"

Kate cut him off, "I didn't do it for you, Dallas." He kept his eyes steady on her and she continued, "She hit me first. But next time you wanna mess around with another guy's girl, make sure you warn me a little better before I go on a date with 'em."

**XXX**

"You alright? Kathy was giving Kate worried looks as they ran around the Dingo.

Kate touched her lip gingerly, "Yeah."

Kathy pulled her hand back down, "Not about that." It was obvious that Kathy was talking about the fact that Richard had only asked Kate out on a date to get back at Dallas for messing around with his girl.

Kate nodded again and Kathy attempted a grin, "'Ya know, Two-Bit mentioned that it was a different Brumley boy who had his eyes on you since the moment you showed up."

Kate smirked slightly, "No thanks, Hun. I think I've gotten enough split lips from the Brumley boys for now."

She frowned, "How did that happen anyway?" She paused, "The first time."

Kate shrugged like it didn't bother her, "Richard wanted me to go in the back of his truck, I said no and he didn't stop. So I slapped him in his face."

"And he got mad and threw a punch?"

Another nod. "I'm not sure if it was just out of reflex or not. But he was too drunk to bother apologizing afterward."

"I doubt Dallas would of cared if he apologized either way." Kate sent her a look and Kathy blushed, "I saw the way he was looking at that cut, like it was put there by the devil himself."

Kate noticed the figure in the doorway and glanced at the clock, 5:20.

Kathy shrugged, "Night crew's already here, besides it's a Wednesday night."

Kate tried to grin at her but the boy in the doorway was already pissing her off and he hadn't even opened his mouth yet. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kath."

She nodded and Kate walked straight past Dallas. He threw his cigarette into the gutter and followed close behind her. For a moment he thought she was heading for his car and hell, he might of even let her drive with how pissed off she looked. But when she kept going straight, he grabbed her wrist. She didn't jump, although he was much gentler this time.

"You ignoring me?"

He hated how good she was at the silent treatment. She hadn't even made eye contact with him yet.

He shrugged and stepped in-front of her. "You know you can't stay mad at me, never could before."

"This ain't like before."

Dallas smirked, "And she speaks."

Kate gave him that look that told him to shut the fuck up. "I don't think you understand." She stated.

"Understand what?" She was walking ahead of him again but spun around quickly at his response, "This ain't like before, Dallas. You can't pull me down with your shit. Just in case you forgot, I gotta go home to David tonight."

"So what?"

Her face went grim, "We all know that my grandma ain't taking care of that kid. You think I dropped out 'cause I wanted to? I dropped out 'cause I had to, Dallas. And I don't even mind too much anymore because I love him but I can't afford to have you drag me down with you whenever you decide to mess around with another guy's girl or get into a pathetic fight. 'Cause we all know that they'll take David away from me the first chance they get, and he's all I got left."

She wasn't one for spilling her feelings but he could tell that the only reason she had was to get her point across. He recognized her situation all too well. "I ain't trying to make you feel guilty, Dallas. It wasn't your job to stick around. It was Daniel's, but he's gone. And now I gotta get over it and grow up." Kate shrugged, "I gotta keep 'em safe." She paused, "I'm the only one who can keep him safe."

He stared at her for awhile before lighting another cancer stick, "So what happens now?"

She gave him that motherly look again and grabbed his keys out of his hand, "You get your shit together and stop acting like Daniel."

He wasn't sure whether that was a hurtful remark or not, but one thing was for sure, Daniel was exactly what he had turned in to.

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><p><strong>Well guys, I was so happy with the reviews that I got on the chapter I posted last night that I got this up for you all today :) Leave me a few more please, they make my day! I'm not too sure with the qualitylikeability of this chapter either so I'd especially love some more feedback.  
><strong>


	2. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

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><p>"Can I bum a cancer stick?"<p>

Dallas began steering the car with his knees as he searched for the pack. He pulled out two and lit one, before tossing the other to Kate.

She was twisting her hair around her finger again and he frowned slightly. "What are you nervous about?"

She shook her head, "Did I upset you?"

Dallas cocked an eyebrow and brought his hands back to the wheel. "What do 'ya mean?"

"From what I said, earlier."

His face went a little hard. "I had my obligations, now you got yours."

Her face lit up a little, "So you understand?" It was sort of a one way question and Kate continued, "It's just that, everything I do now, I gotta be thinking about David when I do it."

Dallas smirked slightly, "Then why'd you start talking shit back to Jessica?"

Kate's blush didn't go unnoticed. "I already knew how the situation was gonna turn out, and I wasn't about to be labeled as a bitch my first month here."

He shook his head, "That's the last thing people are saying you are."

"Oh yeah? What are they saying?"

"We all saw that one swing you threw. And Jessica's the bitch for going straight for your hair."

Kate smirked, she never was one for hair pulling and she was sure that if Daniel was looking down on her, he'd be pretty pissed if she ignored everything he taught her and started going after someone's hair.

"You mad at me for going after him?"

"That was never what it was about, Dal. If I honestly didn't want you to fight 'em then you wouldn't have. I just didn't like the fact that I ended up getting dragged into it."

"Right." He paused, "I did it for you, 'ya know."

It wasn't a question but she nodded anyway, a smile playing on her lips. "I know."

**XXX**

"Hey." Kate jumped at the voice behind her and immediately looked around for David. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw him in-front of her shopping cart, picking out which kind of cereal he wanted.

"Hey Soda." She smiled and threw a box of crackers into the basket. "Only two." She warned David as he had four boxes of cereal sitting in his arms.

"What are 'ya doing here?"

That was a stupid question. "Got my first paycheck yesterday. We were running kind of short on groceries."

Soda nodded, she didn't need to say anything more for him to understand. Far as he knew, Kate was the main caretaker and income in her household and the situation of living paycheck to paycheck to support your sibling was all too familiar.

David looked up at Soda curiously as he kept his boxes of cereal firmly in his arms. "Hi."

Soda smiled, "Hey, I'm Sodapop."

That earned a smile as David turned to Kate, "How come I can't have a name like that?"

Kate smiled slightly before her face became a little more stern. "I'm counting three, sweetheart."

David looked down at his arms and threw one of the boxes into the cart. "Pick one." He held the remaining two up to Kate and Soda piped up, "The chocolate one, chocolate's always better."

David didn't need to hear any more as he tossed the chocolate cereal into the shopping cart. Kate grinned at Soda, "How 'bout you? Where are your brothers?"

"Home. Darry needed me to stop and get some milk on my way home." Kate nodded and Soda cocked an eyebrow, "What about your grandma? She lives with you too, right?"

Kate nodded but avoided his gaze, "She don't get out too much these days." She made sure David was occupied with looking at the cookies as she spoke.

Soda nodded, "Sorry." Dal had said something about her grandfather being pretty sick, and although Kate hadn't come right out and said it, the pure fact that he wasn't there with them now had lead Dallas to believe that he was dead.

Her face looked a little less gloomy as she shrugged, "No big deal."

"Sissy, can I get these?" David held up a package of Oreos and Soda watched the sad look return to Kate's face as she counted the money in her hand. "Not today, sweetheart."

David frowned, "But-" Kate cut him off, "I just can't afford it today, kiddo. I'll bring you to the park later though, to make up for it."

Soda frowned along with her. He could tell that it was still a fairly new thing for her to have to tell her brother no but David obeyed and set the Oreos back on the shelf.

Kate met his eyes again, "I hate having to bring up money around him, but lately I just can't do some things."

Soda dug in his pocket and pulled out a dollar. "Here."

Kate looked down at his hand and shook her head, "I couldn't. You and your brother work too hard for your money."

He shrugged, "It's only a buck." Kate didn't seem convinced. "After my parents first died, the boys got together and covered a month of our mortgage." He shrugged again, "A little help never hurt anyone."

Kate looked indecisive but she didn't hand the dollar back when Soda wrapped her hand around it. "Hey, let the kid get some Oreos."

She smiled, "And I thought Dal was exaggerating when he talked about what good guys you all were."

Soda cocked an eyebrow and Kate told David that he could get the Oreos. "Don't tell him I said that though." She grinned again and Soda smiled back, "I didn't plan on it."

They both knew that Dallas's nice talk about the boys wasn't supposed to go further then Kate. But Soda didn't mind the reassurance that Dal cared about them.

"Say thank you to Sodapop."

David obeyed and didn't bother putting the Oreos in the basket, they were gripped closely to his chest.

Soda smiled and ruffled his hair, "No problem, kid."

**XXX**

"I ran into Kate at the grocery store."

Dallas didn't look up from his hand of cards. "Yeah?"

Soda nodded, "She's having some trouble with money, huh?"

That earned a head raise. "Who told you that?"

He shrugged, "She got pretty upset when she told her brother he couldn't get some cookies."

Dallas cocked an eyebrow, "David?"

Soda nodded and didn't fill him in on the other half of the visit. He wasn't sure what Dallas's reaction would be about him showing Kate pity.

Dal looked back to his cards, "She used to spoil the kid crazy. He probably ain't used to her saying no, he throw a fit over it?"

Soda shook his head.

"Kate always did keep him in check, though. I'll give her that much."

"You know her real well, huh?"

Dallas eyed him carefully and nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Soda could tell he wasn't gonna get much more of a response than that.

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><p><strong>I know this chapter is kind of short and seemingly pointless but I enjoyed writing it so I hope you all enjoyed reading it as well. Leave me a review please :) I really appreciate them!<strong>


	3. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

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><p>Darrel got up to get the door when the knock came. He didn't know many people who cared to knock so figured that he outta get it. He didn't recognize the smiling face who appeared at the door but Soda obviously did, "Hey Kate!"<p>

"Kate" peeked in the doorway and Darrel stepped out of the way.

"Kate Johnson." She extended her hand to him as Soda walked up behind her, "That's Darrel, my brother."

Kate nodded, "I know."

Soda examined her for a moment before deciding how to phrase his question, "You looking for Dal?"

Kate shook her head and began digging in her purse, she handed him a blue envelope and by the weight of it, he figured there was a card inside. "I'm throwing a party for my brother's ninth birthday." She paused, "Well not really a party, just a cook out. But I don't know many people here yet so I'd love it if you guys could come."

He nodded and gestured at the envelope, "This for all of us?"

She began digging in her purse again before pulling out three more matching envelopes. "I got one for Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny. But that one's for you and your brothers."

"You want me to give those to 'em?"

Kate waited a minute before nodding and handing over the invitations, "Sure, thanks Soda."

"No problem. You told Dal about the party?"

Her eyes went a little wide, "I haven't told him I invited you guys yet, if that's what you're asking." Soda grinned at her and she calmed down, "I was gonna stop by the school tomorrow and let him know though."

"Fine by me."

Kate pulled her purse back on her shoulder and smiled at him, "Well, I'm working a night shift today so I outta get going. I'll see you around."

He hitched his thumbs in his jeans and smiled at her. "See you around."

**XXX**

Kathy was eying Kate curiously as she waited for a response.

It took Kate a while to put the words in the correct order in her head. "I don't fight over guys." Kathy cocked an eyebrow at her and Kate shrugged, "I did it 'cause she hit me first. I've done enough begging people to stay, if they wanna leave then they can leave."

"Including Dallas?"

Kate squinted like Kathy wasn't understanding her point. "Dallas left me once, I don't doubt he'd do it again."

Kathy began looking a little worried. "You think he'd leave Tulsa?"

"No, he cares too much about those boys. If it was anywhere but Tulsa, then yeah, I think he would." She made eye-contact with Dallas, Steve, and Two-Bit as they walked out of the school. "Two-Bit gonna care you skipped last period?"

Kathy shrugged, "He ain't the boss of me."

Kate smiled but knew that the situation went both ways, they both had each other wrapped around their fingers.

Two-Bit grinned at them, "Ladies."

Kathy tucked herself in Two-Bit's arm and Kate nodded a greeting to Two-Bit. Dallas and Steve were standing back a little and she walked forward. She glanced at Steve and he smirked, "Looks like you're in trouble Dal. I'll catch y'all later."

Kate laughed a little although that wasn't exactly true. She was most likely the one in trouble.

"What are 'ya doing here?" He almost sounded upset at the fact that she was there.

"I needed to talk to you."

He glanced behind her, "How'd 'ya get here?"

She raised an eyebrow, "I drove?"

"Since when?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "Oh Dallas. My life didn't stop when you left." She shrugged, "Bobby taught me how to drive."

Dallas narrowed his eyes slightly but not enough that anyone else would really notice, she was used to paying close attention.

Bobby was her ex-boyfriend and her brother's right hand man. They hadn't been together for a while now but Dallas never seemed to appreciate the fact that he was always around. But with Bobby being the second in Daniel's gang, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

Dallas let it go and stood up a little straighter, "So what do we gotta talk about?"

She perked up a little, "I'm having a cook out for David's birthday this weekend."

"That's this weekend?"

"Well, his birthday's Monday. But the party's Saturday."

He smirked slightly, "So are Kathy and I gonna be the only two making an appearance?"

Kate rolled her eyes, "I invited your friends too." She watched him cautiously for his response. She wasn't exactly sure if this counted as crossing the line into his "space". They never did have a group of friends to share back in New York.

He didn't answer and Kate continued, "That okay with you?"

Dallas shrugged nonchalantly, "It's your call, babe."

Kate smiled at him. One of those genuine smiles where he could tell that he had done something to please her.

**XXX**

Dallas didn't miss the way she gulped when Soda asked her to hold his beer. There was a moment's hesitation before she closed her eyes and nodded slowly, "Sure, I'll hold it for you."

Soda sent Dallas a curious look as he cocked his eyebrow. Dallas avoided his eyes and Soda hopped down the steps. Darrel was having a hard time getting the grill working and the rest of the boys were gathered around him trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

Kate waited until Soda wasn't looking for her to set the beer down on the porch steps.

"Where's the kid?"

Kate looked at him as if she wasn't exactly all there. "Inside, playing hide and seek or something with his friends."

"That what he roped Pony and Johnny into doing?"

Kate grinned, "They're the seekers." She paused, "Johnny, is that the one with the problems at home?"

Dallas stiffened as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah."

Kate dropped the subject but he noticed the now evident frown on her face. They fell into an awkward silence as they watched Steve get the grill going. "My mom wanted to take David with her, when she left."

Her voice sounded far away and he turned to look at her. "Yeah?"

It wasn't that he didn't believe her, he just wasn't sure how else to answer. This seemed like another one of those times where she was gonna let something spill that she didn't necessarily want a response for.

She nodded again, "It was right after Daniel died. I told her she wasn't taking him and she got pretty upset."

"What'd she do?" Kate's mother never was one for laying her hands on Kate, but she also never stopped her boyfriends from doing it either.

Kate looked away from him, "We fought."

Dallas scoffed, they fought?

Kate shrugged, "She hit me and I hit her back." She stopped talking then but Dallas could tell that there was more that she wanted to say. "She messed me up pretty bad with all of her shit. I wasn't gonna let her do that to David."

"That when she left?"

Kate looked back at him and nodded, "We both cooled off and went to bed, but when I woke up she was gone." Dal pretended like he understood although he really didn't, he never understood anything when it came to her mother. "There was just something different about it this time, something more final."

"That why you keep saying she ain't coming back?"

"Last I heard she was in California anyway."

Dallas gulped and eyed her closely, "What happened to Vince?" Vince was her grandfather, but definitely more like her father since her own dad got himself locked up when she was still in pre-school.

"Things got pretty bad after you left. The docs said he still had two months left." She proceeded cautiously, "But he died a couple days later."

It was weird that Dallas actually felt a little bad about Vince's death. He was right up there with Mr. Curtis when it came to good men in the world. He never hesitated in taking Kate and her two brothers in once he figured out the extent of how messed up their mother was.

Kate had been with him since the first grade, but he got diagnosed with Alzheimer's her freshman year of high school. Out of all the people in the world to throw that disease at, Vince was the last person who deserved it.

"He's in a better place now though. He was in a lot of pain towards the end." He wondered how long it took her to get to the point where she was accepting of everything that had happened. It was as if she read his mind, "I spent a lot of time being angry about everything. I guess I sorta lost myself sometime after."

David came running through the door then, presumably to safety, which had been decided as the grill.

Kate smiled at the boy and it no longer phased him with how happy she got at just the sight of David. "It took me awhile to get it together. If it weren't for him," She gestured towards David, "I don't think I woulda made it."

He felt the pieces of the story coming together and everything started to make sense. There was still a small part of him that wondered how badly she had lost herself and remembering how she reacted to the closeness of Soda's beer, he figured it had been pretty bad.

Kate was oblivious to Dallas's thoughts as she stood up and grabbed a coke out of the cooler. "Go wash up, sweetie. Dinner's almost done."

David headed back inside and gathered the few kids he had invited from school to wash their hands. Kate was back to her usual self as she smiled and chatted with Darrel. The rest of the boys gravitated toward the grill and Kate sent them inside to wash up as well.


	4. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

* * *

><p>Kate stayed chatting with Sandy, Evie, and Kathy for a few more minutes as she gathered up loose garbage cluttering the backyard. It was if on cue that the phone rang as soon as the front door closed shut. David was long in bed and his friends had been picked up a couple of hours ago.<p>

He could barely remember a time that he heard her voice so reserved. Whatever was happening on the other line, she was agreeing with it wholeheartedly. Her face was obvious with that motherly concern she wore so often lately and she seemed as though she were trying to keep herself composed. If it weren't for the small table she were leaning against, he wasn't sure if she'd still be standing.

When she hung up the phone he stared at her anxiously but she didn't make eye-contact with him. She was searching feverishly for something and he walked over to her, extending an open pack of cigarettes to her.

Kate glanced at him and pulled a cigarette out of the pack. She walked slowly over to the couch and Dallas took a seat at the other end. He lit a cigarette himself and waited a long while before looking at her again. The silence wasn't awkward, it was just nerve-wracking. Although with David and her grandmother both safe in their rooms, he couldn't quite wrap his head around what bad news she must have received.

She removed the cigarette from her lips, "Bobby got drafted."

"Bobby Miller?"

She nodded and he had to admit that her sudden concern about her ex-boyfriend wasn't sitting right on him. "His sister's pregnant."

"By who?"

Kate shrugged, "It was just a one night stand."

He vaguely remembered Bobby's sister. She was a year younger than Kate.

"He wants her to come live with me."

She seemed at ease with that whole part of the situation. The words came out a lot calmer than they had when she mentioned Bobby getting drafted.

"So?"

"I said she could."

Dallas scoffed, "Why?"

"I told you before, after Daniel died I was a wreck." Kate paused, "Bobby came to live with me for a while, helped me get my head on straight. He was real good with David and what not." She still didn't meet his eyes, "You know how he is with Francesca. He would do the same for David if the tables were turned."

He didn't doubt it. Even besides the fact that things between Kate and Bobby hadn't exactly ended well, he always felt as though he owed her for what went down with Daniel.

"I owe 'em this much."

The words sounded all too familiar and a small part of him wondered if she remembered him saying those exact words to her way back when. How could he say she was wrong when that was the same reason he had given for leaving her. At least she wasn't leaving though, he wasn't too sure how accepting he'd be of that.

"So what's gonna happen with their gang and all?" Kate had mentioned it a few times about Bobby taking over after Daniel died.

She shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me."

"Why's he want her to come here?"

"So she has someone looking after her I guess. Her dad hasn't gotten any better and I doubt Bobby wants her stuck up in New York with him and a kid."

"So why is it your responsibility?" It was a genuine question but he didn't miss the way her eyes narrowed.

"He was real good to me and David when no one else was. Took care of him for me, helped around the house, paid the bills." She stopped short, as though she didn't need to give any further explanation. All the things she was listing were things that he hadn't stuck around to do. The hidden accusation was obvious in her words, Bobby was there for her when he wasn't.

"You two get back together?" That had been the question nagging at him since the first time she had brought Bobby up.

"No. Things ended with us a long time ago Dallas, you know that."

And he did. As Kate had put it, Bobby always had a place in her heart, but they could never go back to the way things used to be. They sorta just fell into a place where if either of them needed the other, they'd be there, but never as more than a friend.

"Dallas?"

Kate's voice tugged him out of his thoughts. "Yeah?"

She handed the cigarette back to him and met his gaze, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He examined her closely to be sure that she was 100% serious. He nodded and she moved herself over to his side of the couch. He obediently wrapped his arm around her as she snuggled into his chest. Once he felt the tingling in his arm, her eyelids fluttered shut.

**XXX**

Kate had taken the day off of work. She had to be there to pick Bobby and Francesca up from the train station.

Francesca was barely showing, although she was built pretty small to begin with. She spent the first while with Kate showing her baby magazines and gabbing about the nursery and so forth. Kate always loved Francesca but there was a part of her that needed to talk to Bobby, alone. She needed to know how he was doing, if he was okay.

The moment Francesca left to go take a shower, Bobby began wringing his hands. He kept his gaze steadily on the ground, "Don't ask me how I'm coping, 'cause I'm not."

Kate nodded slowly, "I'll take care of her, you know I will."

"I wouldn't have asked you to if I didn't know you would."

Kate already knew that, that'd be like her leaving David in the hands of someone she didn't absolutely know would take proper care of him, which obviously would never happen. Bobby trusted her, she knew that.

"So, the one and only Dallas Winston's right here in Tulsa, huh? What were the chances of that?" Bobby was smirking but his eyes still looked stressed. "What's that you used to gab about, fate something or other?"

Kate smiled, "Must be."

Bobby nodded, "He's good to you."

"You were never too bad yourself." Things hadn't ended badly between them because either of them wanted it to or had even caused it. Things just sorta fell apart, and both of them had ended up with the side-affects.

Bobby looked up and smiled at her. "Make sure it stays that way or I might just have to find myself a way back from Vietnam."

Kate gave him a serious look, "You better find a way back either way."

"Trust me Hun, this ain't exactly something I was asking for either."

Kate nodded and reached across the coffee table to squeeze his hand gently, "You deserved so much better."

Bobby met her eyes, "Didn't we both?"

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><p><strong>So, how was that? Reviews would certainly be appreciated :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'. Hey guys, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! Life's sorta been catching up to me and I've been really busy. I hope you're all still reading and I wanted to send another thank you to my guest reviewers, you guys make my day as well :) Anyways, I'm not really too confident about this chapter so I'd really appreciate some reviews! I hope you enjoy :)**

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><p>He didn't like the way they got along and he was pretty sure that that had everything to do with the fact that Bobby was the only person who knew just as much about Kate as Dallas did. They still loved each other, he was sure of that, but Kate's eyes didn't glisten at Bobby like they did at Dallas. Kate explained it to him multiple times, there was a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone.<p>

"Sissy?" David's voice came ringing through the living room and Dallas turned his head to wonder when Kate had removed herself from her spot next to him on the couch.

He turned around slightly and saw Kate running around the house like a mad woman. She was like supermom in action and he looked her over as he realized how she never failed to amaze him. Her hair was a mess and she was attempting to straighten out her uniform as she cut David's sandwich and talked to whoever was on the other line of the phone. She removed the phone from her ear slightly and gave Francesca another order to finish getting dressed so Kate could drop her off at her doctor's appointment on her way to work. Kate handed David his sandwich with the crust cut off and it was as if the burning smell registered with Kate at the same time it did with Dallas and she shuffled on her feet as she thought of how to get to the burning eggs in the kitchen and not hang up the phone.

Dallas caught her eyes and headed into the kitchen to turn the flame off and place the scrambled eggs onto a plate for her grandmother. Kate appeared in the kitchen moments later and grabbed the plate out of Dallas's extended hand. She kissed him on the cheek, "You sure you don't mind watching David?"

Dal nodded and David entered the kitchen with his toy cars as if on cue.

Kate hurried herself into her grandmother's room and grabbed Francesca's arm as she came back out. She called an 'I love you' to David and told him to behave. As Dallas caught the sight of Bobby leaning against Kate's car waiting to go to the appointment with Francesca he took in the sway of Kate's hips just a little bit more.

**XXX**

"Don't 'ya think you've kept the kid a little too sheltered?" Bobby was speaking what Dallas had been wanting to say for a while now.

The corners of Dallas's lips turned up at the glare Kate sent Bobby in return.

"Come on Kate, he can't keep calling you 'sissy' for the rest of his life."

"Why can't he?"

Bobby rolled his eyes, "Are you gonna go after every kid that makes fun of him for it?"

Dallas could tell by the flash in Kate's eyes that Bobby had phrased that all wrong. There was no doubt in his mind that Kate would go after any person, kid or not, he dared to mess with her brother. She already lost one, over her dead body would she lose another.

"If that's what it takes."

"It ain't." There was a tone in Bobby's voice that reminded Dal of one of the ways that the two of them were different. Bobby was always too nice, Kate was a stubborn bitch when she wanted to be and Bobby had never once pushed her up against the wall and told her how it was gonna be. "Just let him live a little Kate, have him hang out with his friends some more. One day you ain't gonna be around to follow in his footsteps and then he's gonna be knee deep without a paddle."

"He hung out with his friends at his birthday party." Kate was getting awfully defensive.

Bobby sighed, "Whatever you say, babe." Example number two, Dallas never would have gone down without more of a fight.

Kate was silent for a while before she gulped heavily. "What time do you have to leave tomorrow?"

Bobby avoided her eyes and Dallas got up to smoke a cancer stick. "One."

Kate nodded slowly and Bobby looked up at her, "I don't want you to come."

Kate was obviously taken aback as her face tightened and she let out a small gasp. "Why the hell not?"

"I don't want Francesca there either. She doesn't need to see me get on that train. I'll say goodbye before I leave."

"I'm not gonna let you do this alone, Bobby."

"I am doing this alone, Kate." His voice sounded exasperated. "I'm gonna be getting shot at in fucking Vietnam alone."

Kate frowned and nodded as if she understood. If this was the one thing that Bobby wanted to stand his ground about then she'd let him have it. Although it still wasn't clear to her how in the world she was going to get Francesca to stay home while her brother was getting on his death ride. "I'll write to you."

Bobby smirked, but not in the same way that Dallas smirked, he actually looked somewhat amused. "You ain't gonna write to me Kate, just like you didn't write to me when I got locked up."

It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to, Kate was just never one who could keep a conversation going among letters. "I will. I promise this time I will."

"'Cause chances are I ain't coming back?" The tone of Bobby's voice honestly terrified her. It wasn't even fear, it was complete acceptance of the situation.

"Don't say that." Kate's voice was low and not as stern as she'd like it to be.

Bobby kissed her on the cheek and told her to get some rest. Dallas planned on convincing Kate to let him spend the night in her room only to see Bobby's reaction the next morning but the plan didn't work out for all of two reasons. One, he knew that Kate would see right through him and cuss him out for even thinking of doing something like that the day before Bobby's departure and two, Kate was already fast asleep by the time he made it to her bedroom.

**XXX**

"This is bullshit." Kate was more pissed off than he'd seen her in a while. It seemed the fact that Bobby had gotten drafted was finally sinking in and as usual, her arm was paying for it. She released the hold on her arm and stared him dead in the eye. The red fingerprints were raging in the spot she'd left them. He processed the dark circles under her eyes and wondered if that was the result of worrying about Bobby, comforting Francesca, or explaining to David why Bobby wouldn't be back for a long while.

"Sure the hell is." She was ignoring the fact that he was smoking as he lay sprawled across her bed. He wasn't going to disagree with her because she was right, this was fucking bullshit.

Kate gave him a look that took him a moment to register. It'd been so fucking long he had almost forgotten but the moment he saw the way she was biting her lip he recognized it immediately.

There was no doubt in his mind that he'd been spending a whole lot more time with Kate since Bobby showed up but he realized now it wasn't only because he didn't want anyone else to have her, it was because he still wanted her as well.

He ground out his cigarette in the ash tray Kate had casually started keeping around the house and placed his hands firmly on Kate's sides as she straddled him.

The one thing he could always count on was the shine in Kate's eyes and the genuine happiness and concern in her smile. Even when she had bags down to her ankles, the rest of her face never faltered.

"Dallas?"

"Hmm?" He was sure that the top button of her shirt had been buttoned just a few minutes ago.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"How could I say no?" He liked the direction this conversation was going and tried to fight the smirk forming on his face.

"Tell me you want me." The amount of time it took for Kate's voice to go from motherly to completely seductive was amazing.

Dallas stared at her for a while before Kate began shifting on his lap. This wasn't the first time he'd heard this request from her but it'd been so God damn long that it had escaped from his usual routine and a small part of him felt that Kate knew that she was the only woman he'd ever admit he wanted, but so much had changed that he wasn't sure if he was the same person who was willing to admit that anymore.

Dallas comprehended that Kate was removing herself from his lap and he lifted her back into place. He caught sight of the lace trim at the top of her thigh-highs and kissed her hard. He waited until the moan escaped Kate's mouth and she backed away, breathing heavily. Her eyes were glistening even more than before and he trailed kisses across her jaw. He reached her ear and she shivered at his breath, "I want you." He breathed.


	6. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

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><p>Kate was never conceited, confident maybe, but never conceited. She knew Dallas wanted her but he never doubted that she wanted him too. As the night went on it became more and more evident how that was possibly another thing that had changed. Every few moments he noticed Kate's hand gravitate back to the scar on her arm.<p>

She was fast asleep now as her hair stuck to her neck with sweat. Her breathing was slow and Dallas watched her chest move up and down as she lay on her stomach. He was just about to close his eyes and try and get some sleep when Francesca's yell echoed the house.

Kate jolted awake and was about a centimeter away from falling off the bed. Francesca called again and Kate regained herself as she hopped up and quickly threw on some clothes. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and rushed down the stairs.

Dallas faintly heard Francesca's panicky voice and Kate's soothing one. Kate appeared back in the room a few minutes later with her car keys jingling in her hand.

"I'm taking Francesca to the hospital."

The bags were still evident under her eyes but she looked completely aware of the situation, full on mother mode.

"What happened?"

Kate pulled a shirt over her head and buttoned up her jeans without even making eye contact. "She's bleeding."

He almost asked from where before remembering the entire situation. He wasn't exactly in the mood for his next question but figured that he owed Kate that much. "You want me to go with you?"

She smirked slightly and shook her head, "I'll be fine. If I'm not home by morning can you make sure David gets to school?"

He nodded, "Sure thing babe."

Kate shuffled on her feet a moment before hearing Francesca ask if she was almost ready. She rushed over to Dallas and kissed him quickly before dashing back out the door.

**XXX**

After noticing the clock on the wall as Dallas walked into the hallway he slowed his step and debated whether or not it'd even be worth it to wake David up now. He decided against it and headed downstairs. He was pretty sure Kate's grandma hadn't gotten up before one in a while now.

He flinched slightly at the small figure dressed in red and yellow making a sandwich in the kitchen.

"Where's Francesca?"

"Sleeping."

Dallas paused, "She okay?"

Kate nodded, "Doctor said bleeding's normal in the first trimester." Dallas didn't respond and Kate grabbed her purse from off the counter, "There's David's lunch. I can't afford to skip out on a shift today so I'm gonna need you to watch him. 'Ya know, since he missed school and all."

She didn't exactly sound pissed so Dallas just nodded. "Unless, you have something better to do?"

"Nah, nothing better."

Kate nodded, "Francesca's sleeping on the couch, try not to wake her, and make sure David's up before 12. Take him to the park or something so you don't get it from my grandma."

Dallas didn't see the need in responding as she was already walking away from him. He grabbed her arm quickly and waited for her to turn and face him, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, just dandy."

**XXX**

"What the hell are you talking about?" This was one of those times where Kate was honestly just pissing him the fuck off.

"I mean maybe we're not the same people we were a year ago. 'Ya know?"

"No, I don't know." Kate didn't respond and Dallas snapped at her, "I know you better than Bobby ever did."

"Dal." She was warning him and he backed off at the way her eyes started watering at the mention of Bobby's name. She started batting her eyelashes unnormally fast and he pretended he didn't notice.

He knew what this was about, and it had nothing to do with who they were a year ago or who they are today. Bobby's gone and now she wants him to prove that he's not gonna walk out on her. That despite every other person in her life not being there, for whatever reason, Dallas will be the one to stay.

"You want me to prove how much I still know about you?"

Kate looked confused as she squinted her eyes at him. Dallas didn't wait for a response as he tried to remember the weird quirks about her. "I know that you stick a cancer stick in your mouth when you're trying to calm down, you twist your hair around your finger when you're nervous, and squeeze your arm when you're pissed. "

"Everybody knows those things."

"I know that you hate ice and only drink stuff that's piss warm. You don't drink milk unless it has that chocolate powder from that ghetto store downtown. You don't drink water. You hate your smile and you wanna be a teacher. Anything else?"

Kate didn't answer.

"You sing whenever you think no one's listening. You get a meatball sub from that diner way out every Tuesday. You only chew fruit flavored gum. The only time you eat breakfast is if it's cake. You suck at pool yet you always make bets that you'll win and then get pissed off when you don't. And that watch you wear, is about 5 hours late."

Kate looked down at her watch slowly and grinned. She didn't say anything as she turned back around in the seat with a satisfied look on her face.

Dallas nodded in agreement and turned the key in the ignition, "I ain't going no where, Kate."

**XXX**

Kate was used to the involuntary flinch that occurred whenever someone breathed in her direction now but when she turned around from locking up the Dingo she was pretty sure that she had a reason to be flinching.

"Where's your boyfriend?"

Kate gripped her car keys tightly and tried to keep from sweating. "I don't know who you're talking about." She went to walk around the 3 guys but they were standing much to close to her car for her to make it very far.

"Now darling, we don't wanna mess up that pretty little face of yours, all we wanna do is talk to Dallas."

"I ain't seen him in nearly two days." She knew that she should have been worried when Dallas said he had business to take care of, but she learned from Daniel that the less you know, the better.

The guy in the middle stepped forward and his two goons stood a little straighter. "Word around town is that he's pretty stuck on you, you sure he could go two days without seeing that pretty little face?"

"Positive."

He smiled slyly, "I don't believe you sweetheart. How about you boys, you believe her?"

She watched one of the boys shake their head as the other glared at her, "Not at all."

They definitely weren't from this side of town, that much Dallas had taught her.

"Well then, we might just have to find out what's got Winston so stuck on you then."

Kate held in her gulp and clenched her fists tight. She'd been down this road before and she'd beat the living shit out of whoever tried to hurt her again, or die trying.

The scar on her arm began itching just as a car pulled slowly into the parking lot.

Kate kept eyes on who was climbing out of it and the guys turned to watch what she was eyeing.

Dallas climbed out of the passenger seat and some boy she recognized from around town came from the driver's.

The three guys tensed up and tried to book it to their car but Dallas was already swinging at one and grabbing another while his friend took on the remaining goon.

Dallas was cussing so much Kate doubted there were any actual words in-between. She waited for him to mess them up enough that they wouldn't forget it but not enough that he'd knock them unconscious.

"Dal." Kate appeared behind him but Dallas was still swinging at the leader of the pack. She placed her hand gently on his lower back and his burning skin warmed up her hand pretty damn fast.

Dallas came back to reality now and shoved the guy away. He looked toward his partner, "Tim, enough." '

"Tim" backed away from the guy he had taken on.

The two boys helped up the one that Dallas had already knocked to the ground and stumbled away from Dallas and Tim.

"I ever see you near her again and you won't see the fucking morning." Kate could tell that Dallas was trying to keep his threat mild as she rubbed her thumb back and forth on his back.

"Oh we're coming after the two of you next time Winston and you better fucking believe it'll be all of us."

Dallas stepped forward and the big-mouth flinched backwards.

Dallas smirked in satisfaction and waited until they were to the end of the parking lot until he turned to Kate. She hadn't realized how bad she was shaking until he looked her up and down. "Are you okay?"

Kate nodded quickly, "I'm not hurt."

He looked at her closer and pulled her in tight. She didn't cry, she wouldn't cry.

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><p><strong>I know I know, this update took forever. I'm still getting hammered with school so please just stick with me until Summer and I promise I'll make up for it. I love you guys so much and I hope you're all still reading. Please leave me a review and let me know!<strong>


	7. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: S. E. Hinton owns 'The Outsiders'.**

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><p>It was one of few public displays of affection that Dallas had made with Kate in-front of his friends. Tim cleared his throat and Dallas pulled away, giving her another once over before turning back to Tim.<p>

"She okay?"

Dal nodded and draped his arm across Kate's shoulders, "Yeah, she's a tough chick."

Tim nodded but he was eying her too. Kate stood a little straighter and stopped wringing her hands together. Dallas's arm was tight across her shoulders as she tried to stop shaking.

"Looks like we got here just in time then."

Dallas stiffened a little at that, he didn't quite want to think of what would have happened if they had been just a couple minutes later.

Tim turned toward his car as if the whole situation had never happened. Kate hesitated but felt her feet reluctantly moving along with Dallas's as his arm gravitated her to Tim's car.

Dallas and Tim were exchanging looks that she'd seen much too many times with Daniel and Bobby. Tim asked for Kate's address and Dallas reluctantly gave it to him.

Dallas turned to her once the car stopped in-front of her house, "Give me your keys."

Kate cocked an eyebrow before she realized what he was talking about, it hadn't even occurred to her that her car was still sitting in the Dingo parking lot. She handed the keys over and Dallas pocketed them, "I'll have it here before your shift tomorrow."

As far as Kate was concerned, that was her permission to book it. She heard Tim whisper to Dallas about whether or not he was gonna head inside with her and due to the lack of Dallas's reaction, Kate figured that that wasn't part of his plans.

Kate was closing the car door when she looked into Dallas's passenger window, "Thanks for the ride."

Tim nodded and she noticed how hard his hands were clenching the steering wheel, this must have been an awkward situation for him.

"Hey," Dallas called after her when she was halfway up the sidewalk, "We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?"

Kate sighed and nodded tiredly, "Yeah."

**XXX**

Much to Dallas's promise, Kate's car was parked outside of her house by the time she woke up the next morning. She didn't have to look far before finding the keys under the doormat.

Her hands were still shaking by the time her shift ended and Dallas was waiting in the doorway of the Dingo. When she got home the previous evening and found herself searching for some alcohol she immediately called Bobby before hanging up the phone dumbfounded, oblivious to why he hadn't picked up. It wasn't until she was lying in bed staring at the ceiling that she remembered why.

Her realization triggered something else. A bigger, more important, realization. With Bobby gone, there's not going to be anyone around to pick up the pieces if she loses it again. She had to make the decision right then that nothing and no one will come between her taking care of David. She can't ever pick up that bottle again because for the next 9 years she has to be all there, for David. There is no spiraling out of control this time because David's all she has left.

**XXX**

"They don't usually come after girls."

"So why did they this time?"

"Something went down with a bunch of Socs and the Shepard's gang a couple days ago. Let's just say the Socs ain't being very forgiving."

Kate began squeezing her arm, "What do you have to do with the Shepards?"

"We back them up, they back us up. Simple as that." Dallas didn't move his eyes off of Kate's arm, "I'm gonna have it out with them, Kate. They ain't gonna come after you again."

"That's not the point, Dallas." She waited for him to give her eye-contact. "If David was with me-" She trailed off.

"They've never come after kids, Kate. I can promise you that much."

"It's never too late to try something new."

"Babe-"

"Fix it, Dal. That's all I'm saying." She didn't ask him if he wanted a ride somewhere, she just slammed the car door in his face.

**XXX**

There were always downfalls with dating Dallas Winston but this was the first time that Kate ever had to constantly be looking over her shoulder. To Dallas's credit, he'd been around her as much as possible in the next two days trying to kiss up to her after the past event.

"You're overreacting, Kate. Just let the kid go hang out with his friends." Kate also hadn't let David out of sight in the past two days beside the mandatory 7 hours at school.

"No." She finished cutting the crust off of David's sandwich and called him into the kitchen to eat it.

"I'm not eating until you say I can go to Michael's!"

Kate slammed the refrigerator shut and turned to walk into the living room. Dallas grabbed her arm when she got to the doorway and stared at her.

"He's not going." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared back at Dallas.

"It's the weekend, let him go hang out with his friends and then you and I can head upstairs." He smirked at her and Kate narrowed her eyes, "Like hell we will, if you think I'm not still pissed at you you're wrong. And either way, I'm his boss and he's not going."

Neither of them had noticed David standing next to them now, "Oh my gosh, I hate you!"

Kate reached out to David but he turned away and went running for the stairs, "I want Danny back!"

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><p><strong>I'm not too confident about this chapter but I worked pretty hard to get it up for you guys today so please leave me some lovely reviews and let me know how it was! I only got one review on the last chapter : But it's better than none so thank you Jas!**


	8. Chapters Deleted

This is the message I sent out a few minutes ago but I decided I'd post it up on the story as well for my guest readers:

Hey guys! I'm sending out this message to everyone who follows and/or favorites my story 'Fire & Ice' because last night something horrible happened with it. After I posted the 12th chapter to the story I went back on and the first 6 chapters of the story were deleted. I no longer have the documents of these chapters on my computer either. I emailed Fanfiction yesterday but still haven't received a response as to if there was anyway I could get these chapters back. Long story short, I'm messaging all of you in hopes that you might have copies of the first 6 chapters of 'Fire & Ice' somewhere. If I'm not able to get these chapters back I don't think I'll be continuing with the story. Trust me I really want to, I've actually been pretty proud of this story so far and I think it's been my best yet but I don't see the point in continuing a story that's missing the first 6 chapters. I honestly cried when I realized what had happened so I'm praying that I'll be able to recover these chapters one way or another. Thank you all for your endless support.

-Nicole


	9. I'm Back!

Well guys, I'm back! I know it's been forever and I'm truly sorry for that. I was so heartbroken over losing half of my story that I couldn't even think about writing again. But writing has always been a part of me and no matter how much I tried to get over it, I couldn't deny that fact. I had so much left in store for Dallas and Kate and just need to write it out. I'm hoping I still have some readers sticking around waiting to find out how this love story ends. And if that's the case, could you please just leave me a review (it doesn't even have to be more than a few words) telling me that you're going to continue reading so that I know that I'm not posting to nobody. Thank you so much everyone, for everything. I missed you all!

-Nicole

P.S. FanFiction never responded to any of my many emails about getting my story back so that also contributed to the long wait.


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